Good-Bye Rough Reptile Skin! ($100 SpaFinder Gift Card Sweepstakes)

   

I have dry skin.

Like scaly rough and dry.

Add to my naturally dry skin: washing dishes, scrubbing toilets, laundry, and living somewhere terribly, terribly dry. It is like the whammy of all whammies.

In order for my skin to not resemble that of a dried out lizard in the desert, I must have a big bottle of lotion on hand at all times.

Rich, creamy, moisturizing, gloriously smoothing lotion.

I need a little something special to unlock my softer side.

Just because my life is full and has its rough moments doesn't mean that my skin had to be rough.

Suave® Skin Solutions Smoothing Body Lotion with Cocoa Butter and Shea is glorious and allows my skin to be ever-so-soft no matter how hard I work. 

Suave Body Care is helping women everywhere to unlock their softer side.

I have used Suave products for years. I have used them for myself as well as for my children. Their tearless body wash and tearless shampoo can always be found in my children's bathrooms.

I have recently become a big fan of Suave Skin Solutions Lotion.

You literally just pump some into your hand, rub the lotion in, and your skin is silky smooth for the rest of the day.

Good-bye rough reptile skin!

 Hello softer smoother skin.

The key to softer smoother skin is in the hydration and the moisturizing. Suave Skin Solutions Lotions are dermatologist-tested and provide 24-hour moisture to your skin. You can double up the moisture by also using Suave Naturals Body Wash. There are so many fun and fresh scents available. I love the Creamy Cocoa Butter and Shea Body Wash.

Suave offers quality products that are SO accessible. You can find them at practically any grocery store. Everyone can have softer skin.

That is all anyone wants, right? ;).

Join Suave Beauty on Facebook to find out what your softness score is. Plus you can have the chance to win a free product.

Head on over, find out your softness score, then Unlock Your Softer Side.

Now you can win a $100 SpaFinder gift card.  

Enter by telling me what Suave product you would use to Unlock Your Softer Side.

Sweepstakes Rules:
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

1. Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
2. Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
3. Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
4. For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winner will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
BlogHer will pool entries from participating blogs and select a sweepstakes winner at random and will contact the winner with details about fulfilling the prize.
The Official Rules are available here.
For More Chances to Wing: Sweepstakes Round Up
This sweepstakes runs from 7/29/13 – 8/15/13.

Slow Cooker Saturday: Shredded Barbeque Chicken Sliders

Any Summer day can be made better with some barbeque chicken, especially a crazy busy Summer day.

I have been a little lax in the cooking department this Summer. We have been ultra busy and all of the sudden the end of the day is there and then BAM my kids start saying they are hungry and before I know it that sneaky little devil dinnertime has snuck on up me.

On the days where I anticipate the impending need for evening nourishment, I bring out the slow cooker and start making dinner before the crazy descends.

Some slow cooker Barbeque Chicken seemed the perfect answer for a busy Summer day.

These little sliders are so scrumptious.

Plus they were very little trouble to whip out.

Cook the chicken slowly and all day long with little to no supervision.

Then shred it up. Soak it up in some sauce. Serve on a roll. Slather in more sauce.

And now it is eating time.

Another Slow Cooker Saturday success. Woot! Woot!

Slow Cooker Shredded Barbeque Sauce
adapted from America's Test Kitchen 

3 chicken breasts
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups brown sugar barbeque sauce (your favorite brand)

Mix the chili powder, paprika, brown sugar, salt, cayenne pepper, and pepper in a small bowl. Rub the mixture evenly over the chicken and then put the chicken in the slow cooker. Pour 1/2 cup of the barbeque sauce over the chicken. Cook on low for 4-6 hours until chicken is done.

Take the chicken out and shred and set aside. Skim the fat off the leftover liquid. Mix 1 cup of the liquid with the 1 cup of barbeque sauce. Toss the chicken with the mixture.

Serve on slider rolls.

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A Pinteresting Wednesday: Fold Over Clutch

Welcome to A Pinteresting Wednesday.

Um...I love this clutch.

Love.

Love.

Love.

When I saw this tutorial on Flamingo Toes, I knew I needed to make this and make it soon. I pinned it to my Projects To Do board.

Then I came across some left over fabric from these Tote Bags  I made for our teachers at the end of school. Right by that was some left over faux leather...known more affectionately as puh-leather.

The clutch was practically begging to be made.

This bag could really be made in one afternoon if you have everything on hand and as long as you are not tackled by wild couch climbing monkeys...aka my Little Men...

Since I was occasionally accosted by crazy couch climbers and I was short a zipper, this project took me two days total.

Once I had all the supplies gathered and a quite afternoon thanks to Cub Scout Day Camp, this clutch was made. Oh how glorious.

I love the fold over feature. It makes the bag super trendy. The corner details are quite lovely as well. That is where I used my puh-leather (ps I do know it should be pleather...just clarifying).

I used home fabric and duck cloth to make this bag. Since I used these materials that are heavier than cotton, I was able to forgo the interfacing that she calls for in her tutorial.

This clutch is perfect for a date night with The Hubby or girls night out. My wallet, phone and lip gloss (you know the essentials) fit snuggly inside.

Zip it closed, fold it over and bam, I am ready for a fun and fashionable evening on the town.

I would highly recommend this tutorial. Super fun and pretty easy to follow.

Another Pin down. Only...only...oh who am I kidding! There are way too many pins to count and I just keep adding to my Pin Boards every day.

Don't you just love Pinterest?

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Kid Airplane Wings: Tutorial

I made these super fun airplane wings for my Little Men a few weeks ago. They went along with the Disney Plane's Sweepstakes, which is still going on friends! Head on over and leave a comment to enter to win a Fandango $100 Gift Card.

They have been so excited for Planes to come to theaters. I thought it would be fun to make something for them to celebrate the movie...

...maybe I should let them wear them to the theater. I am sure the other people would really appreciate tiny arm airplanes flying around the theater.

This was a super easy, done in a day, kind of project. The wings can be made with just a handful of supplies, a lot that you might just have on hand.

By the end of the day you will have happy little fliers zooming around your house.

Or zooming around the park.
 

Or if you are brave, maybe even a movie theater.

 Here is how you can make your own set of Kid Airplane Wings-

What you need-

tri-fold display board (one board will make 2 sets)
painters tape
spray paint
duct tape

Cut the sides off, that will be one set of wings. Then cut the middle piece exactly in half, that will be another set of wings.

Working with the non white side, measure you kiddos arm span (from the armpit to the tip of the fingers) and add 3 inches. Make the mark in the middle of the short distance.

Draw an oval shape from one side to the other going through the mid point you just marked.

Cut out with an exacto knife. Then use this wing as the pattern for your other wings. Repeat the cutting process for each wing.

Flip the board over and now work with the white side.

Using painters tape, mark off stripes in any pattern you like. The tape will be where the white stripes show up.

You can go from side to side. You can make little stripes. You can make a big stripe by overlapping the painters tape. You can go from the tip of the wing running down the middle. Basically have fun making the stripey wing of your dreams.

Now is the fun part. Spray paint. Who doesn't love spray paint???

I chose classic colors that were perfect for airplane wings. I sprayed each set a different color. Apply the first coat pretty lightly. Then go back with heavy coats until they have the coverage you like. The coverage might depend on the color. 

The red paint went on gloriously and covered completely with two coats. The green paint took several more to get the coverage I wanted.

I used duct tape for the arm bands.

For 1 wing, here is what you will need:

4- 12" strips
4- 8" strips
4- 5"strips

For the upper arm band, you will use the 12" strips. Lay two sticky side up. Then place two sticky side down onto the strips already laying on the table.

For the lower arm band do the same thing with the 8" strips.

Place the upper arm bands about 5-6 inches from the top, making sure it is in the middle. You will want to tape them on with 2 of the 5" strips. Make sure to tape them on in an arch big enough for your child's arms to go through.

Then have them put it on and measure where to put the lower arm band.

Stick the lower arm band on with the 2 other 5 inch strips.

Repeat for all of the wings.

Really secure the arm bands well. The rougher they play, the more tape you might need securing them on.

Now all you have to do is slip them on and let them fly around until they request to land.

This is a super easy project and is an unbelievable fun thing to break up a Summer afternoon.

Just another reminder--

Don't forget to enter the Disney's Reach Your Dreams and Have Courage

Sweepstake for a chance to win a $100 Fandango gift card.

Taco Crunch Wrap (Copycat Recipe)

Confession time--

On occasion I am known to eat at  the Tex-Mex style fast food restaurant that has something to do with a Bell . Shh, don't tell anyone. I am not particularly proud of this confession, but since we are such close friends...and friends don't judge...I feel I can be honest with you.

Word on the street is that my dear sweet mother ate from this restaurant while I was in utero. So really my craving for the Bell started before I was even conscious of it.

So really, s'not my fault.

I can also honesty tell you that I haven't eaten there in quite awhile. Mostly because as I have grown older I find myself not as in love with fast food. Basically, when I do get to go out to eat, which is rare, I do not want it to be rolling through a drive-up.

However, I still think fondly on my favorite menu item from the a fore mentioned Bell restaurant. Ah the Crunch Wrap Supreme. That little bit of deliciousness is almost enough temptation to take myself to the boarder and the drive through.

What is not to love? They basically helped my decision between soft taco and hard taco become null and void.

No more--
"Hmmm soft taco?"
"No, hard taco..."
"Ugh, wait, soft taco...no hard...ugh, ugh, ugh."

Yeah I know suburban mom problems....

I love myself a good Crunch Wrap. Luhhhve.

Alas, I just don't have them, again the whole fast food thing.

Insert sad violin music now...

Then I became aware of the fact that I can make them at home.

Insert angels singing...

Not too long ago we got a package of fresh high quality tortillas from Bountiful Baskets. In the order, were giant and glorious 13" tortillas. At first I was all like, "What the heck do I do with these monsters?"

That is when the whole homemade crunch wrap thing happened. Hubby had pinned a recipe or two for Crunch Wraps on Pinterest previous to obtaining our giant tortilla shells (how come I had not been told about this pinning?).

There are actually quite a few options out there on how to make a Crunch Wrap Supreme.

I wasn't a fan of one single recipe, so I do what I do and I morphed and added and tweaked.

The outcome was a fast food copycat so glorious that I will never have to drive to the boarder again.

Heaven help me these were so yummy. If you are a fan of tacos, soft or hard, the Bell, Tex-Mex, or all together scrumptious food, then you will enjoy these. They are super easy to make and a complete meal all wrapped up.

Enjoy and thanks for letting me share my deep dark secret about fast food with you! It sure feels good to get that off my chest.

Taco Crunch Wrap (Copycat Recipe)

13" (or bigger) flour tortilla shells
Corn tostada shells
1 lb ground hamburger
Taco Bell taco seasoning packet
1 jar mild or medium cheese (like Tostitos Salsa Con Queso)
light sour cream
shredded iceberg lettuce
diced tomatoes

Cook the ground hamburger, drain off the fat. Season with the Taco Bell seasoning.

Lay a flour tortilla on the counter. If the shells are not pliable, then nuke them for a couple seconds in the microwave. Spread about 1/4 cup of the meat in the middle of the tortilla. It should be spread in a circle that will be perfectly covered by a tostada shell.

Once the meat is spread in the center of the tortilla. Pour over 2-3 Tablespoons of cheese sauce. Top the cheese with a tostada shell.

On top of the shell, spread a couple of Tablespoons of sour cream. Top with the shredded lettuce and diced tomatoes.

To fold up the shell, fold up 1/6 section of the shell toward the center. Then work left to right and keep folding, overlapping each section slightly until the last sixth is folded over. Depending on how full you stuffed them there might be a slight gap in the middle.

Cook the crunch wrap in a slightly greased skillet on medium high. Cook the folded side down first, carefully laying it down so the folds do not come undone.

Cook for until the tortilla is golden brown, about a minute. Carefully flip and cook the other side.

Serve warm.

And...you're welcome!

Thanks for reading!

A Pinteresting Wednesday: Scripture Cover

The other day I gave a little sneak of this project. Yes on Instagram (follow along with me @larissa_anotherday)...my new obsession.

I busted out the sewing machine after a month and a half of not sewing a thing. Sewing was so overdue. My sewing machine was practically weeping in the corner of my sewing room. Poor baby.

Good thing I had the pieces for this Scripture Cover Tutorial from A Lemon Squeezy Home all cut out and ready to go...

I, uh, actually have had them cut out for over a month.

I pinned this tutorial on my pinboards right when she posted it.

My 9 year-old has had a set of scriptures but no way to carry them around, except with his somewhat reverent and grubby little hands.

He has been begging for his own case to carry his scriptures.

My motivation and the time available finally met up and I whipped out a Scripture Cover for Oldest's scriptures.

I grabbed some of my favorite boy fabric from my stash. I have had it on hand since Oldest's bowling themed birthday party from way back when.

The cover came together pretty easily. As easily as one can do a project in a Summer afternoon with a houseful of monkeys, that is.

Her instructions are easy to follow. What I love most is that her tutorial has a divider flap.

Easy for opening up and reading both his Bible and his Book of Mormon.

Then the set of scriptures can close up, thanks to the little velcro strap. The straps are perfect for little hands to carry them around.

I will definitely keep this tutorial on hand for future little sets of scriptures and their little owners.

Another Pinterest project done!

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Disney's Planes "Reach Your Dreams and Have Courage" Sweepstakes

 

Our family has been anxiously awaiting the arrival of Disney's new film Planes in theaters. Since the very first preview, we have been counting down. We love both Cars and Cars 2, and have already marked August 9th on our calendars for this release.

We have watched every trailer available. We feel we already know and love so many of the characters, especially Dusty, the films main character, a crop-dusting plane who has big dreams to become more than he is. He decides to follow his big dreams, enter a rally and race against the world's greatest flying machines.

Dusty has a team of colorful and endearing characters, who each in their own individual way support and help Dusty try to reach his dreams.

Dusty's journey to his goal reminds me of the big dreams and hopes my own children have.

My own little "Dusty's" have or will have big, sometimes unattainable dreams.

 

How am I a part of their team? How do I support and help them reach their goal and have courage to do so?

Basically, what is my parenting style?

In the film, each member of Dusty's Team has a different way of encouraging him. They each bring different traits and styles. I found my own parenting style sprinkled in little traits of each character. However, I found I related the most to Dottie.

Dottie is a little too practical and is very much a realist. She worries over the grandness and the seemingly unreachable nature of Dusty's dreams. She doesn't so much worry about the dream itself, but the danger of the dream for Dusty. Ultimately, though, whatever he decides Dottie will fiercely support him and help get him to where he wants to be.

While I do not possess her tough-love mentality (here I am little more like Chug with my softie heart), even in the face of impractical, unreachable, and even dangerous dreams, I, like Dottie, will back my own little crop-dusters.

When it comes down to it, I would rather them have big unattainable dreams than no dreams at all. I daily will encourage them to Reach For Their Dreams and Have Courage. I find myself doing this by facing life with joy, some seriousness, a lot of laughter, and a bit of biting my tongue.

When their vocalized goals seem impractical, I make sure I don't put out their fire with a ready response such as, "That pencil stand made from folded printer paper is nice, but let's not sell it door-to-door in the neighborhood." Instead I try to let them follow through with their idea. Even if that means there might be danger in their feelings getting hurt or no one buying their very "fancy" paper holder. Who knows, they might just be the inventors of the next must-have ergonomic desk accessory.

I want them to be smart about their goals and encourage them to think them through. However, I work really hard to not dash the dream or the dreamer.
 
All it takes is courage, both for the dreamer and the Momma.

The dreamer just needs the courage to reach, to try, to fail, to succeed, to dream. As parents, I feel we can help our dreamer by tapping into who we are and using our strengths to support them. Just like Dusty had a team full of supporters with different styles encouraging him, our dreamers can be encouraged by different styles, too.

The Momma and Dad just need the courage to let our dreamers FLY while trying not to worry too much about the heights or possible crashes.

Again, dreaming a big dream is better than no dream.

Let them fly.

Now for the Reach Your Dreams and Have Courage Sweepstakes!

To enter for a chance to win a $100 Fandango.com gift card all you need to do is leave a comment by answering the question--

How do you challenge your children to follow their dreams?

 

Easy as that.

 

If you are counting down the days to PLANES like we are, head over to their Main Site for all the movie goodness.

 

Other ways to follow along with PLANES-

Facebook: www.facebook.com/DisneyPlanes

 

Twitter: Twitter.com/PlanesElChu 

 

Rules:
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
b) Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the 
following unique term in your tweet message: ""#SweepstakesEntry""; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post"
c) Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.
This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 7/15 - 8/12.
Be sure to visit the Disney Planes page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!

Slow Cooker Saturday: Lasagna

Welcome to Slow Cooker Saturday

I hadn't had traditional lasagna in years. Years and years.

Consequently, neither had my family. Poor, poor family!

I figured I should rectify that post haste...hehehe, sometimes I wish I were living smack dab in the middle of a Jane Austen book.

Back to the lasagna...

The yummy, delightful lasagna...

There are a lot recipes out there. As is my normal style, I morphed a few recipes and I feel I created a pretty darn tasty version that is sure to make any hungry family really happy.

I love the spinach in this recipe. The more veggies nestled within the better. Not only does this lasagna have ground beef, but also has Italian sausage. Then the cheese. Cheese makes so many things better.

On top of being yummy, this recipe is easy to prepare and then just cooks all day in the slow cooker. See, super easy and bonus your house smells divine all day long.

The whole family ate it all up. I am so happy I introduced my teeny tiny eaters to lasagna. Oh it was so yummy. I kind of want a big ol' serving right now.

I might be making this again sooner than later.

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Lasagna

1 lb ground hamburger
1 lb Italian sausage
3 (14 oz) cans crushed tomatoes
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 Tablespoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 (15 oz) containers part skim ricotta cheese
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese, plus 1 cup for the top
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
12-15 lasagna noodles
6 cups baby spinach, roughly cut up

Cook the ground hamburger and the Italian sausage in a skillet. Drain off extra fat. Set aside.

In a bowl, combine the tomatoes, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper flakes, pepper.

In another bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, mozzarella (not the 1 cup for the top), and Parmesan cheeses.

Spray bowl of the crock pot. In the bottom of the crock pot, spread a little bit of sauce. Top the sauce with three noodles. You might need to break some of the noodles to get them to fit. Pour 1 cup of sauce over the noodles. Then top with a third of the meat. Next layer on 2 cups of the spinach. After the spinach layer on a third of the cheese mixture.

Repeat two more times.

End by topping the lasagna with three noodles and the 1 cup of mozzarella.

Cover and cook on low. Cook for for 4-5 hours, until the noodles are done.

Thanks for reading!

Chocolate Pudding with Raspberry Sauce

If you follow me on Instagram (larissa_anotherday), you should have seen a little sneak peak of this delightful dessert already. I know I normally share recipes on Thursdays, but let's face it my Summer is devoid of my normal schedule. So today we have a recipe on Friday.

I made this Chocolate Pudding with Raspberry Sauce for Hubby on Father's Day. Originally I had planned to make a Pot de Creme. This chocolate pudding happened instead. The pudding is rich, and creamy. It is slightly thicker than a traditional pudding, but not as thick as a Pot de Creme.

The base is made from my very favoritist (totally a word) chocolate chips--Guittard Real Milk Chocolate Chips. The recipe I used for the pudding was actually on the bag itself.

I love these chips so much, I might be known to buy an extra bag just for the occasional kids-are-driving-me-crazy treat. A smallish...er...mediumish...okay largish handful of these large milk chocolate chips and I am in heaven. Heaven I tell you!

While they are great by themselves, they are heavenly in my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, and they are sinful in these little individual servings of chocolate pudding. Yes, I am fully aware I used both heavenly and sinful to describe these chocolate morsels.

I really wanted to incorporate raspberries into the dessert some how. My husband loves chocolate mixed with fruit, especially raspberries or cherries.

Instead of just sprinkling fresh raspberries on top, I decided I also wanted to make a raspberry sauce.

The combination was glorious!

A little patience is involved since the pudding has to set up in the refrigerator. That time could be used to run through your neighborhood...then you won't feel so bad when you eat one...or two...

The other glorious thing, is that this is a cool dessert. So you can beat the heat, and it is a great alternative to ice cream if you are bored of ice cream...of course if that is even possible.

Chocolate Pudding with Raspberry Sauce

Printable Recipe

Pudding:
2 cups milk chocolate chips (I love Guittard)
3/4 cups whole milk
1/4 cup butter

Place the chocolate chips in a blender.

Heat the milk and the butter in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Stir frequently, until the mixture just begins to boil.

Immediately pour the hot liquid into the blender with the chocolate chips. Cover and blend on high until the chocolate mixture is smooth.

Pour the chocolate mixture into small dessert dishes and chill for 3-5 hours or until set.

Prepare the Raspberry Sauce once you know the pudding is set.

Raspberry Sauce:
1 pint fresh raspberries
1/4 cup white sugar
2 Tablespoons orange juice
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup cold water

Whisk the corn starch into the cold water until smooth.

In a small saucepan, combine the raspberries, sugar, orange juice and cornstarch mixture. Bring them mixture to a bowl over medium high heat.

Reduce to a simmer, and while stirring allow the sauce to simmer for 5 minutes or until desired consistency. The sauce will thicken a little as it cools.

Puree the sauce with an immersion blender and then feed it through a sieve in order to remove the seeds.

Set aside sauce until the individual pudding bowls are done.

Serve the Chocolate Pudding with a few fresh raspberries and topped with a generous helping of raspberry sauce.

Face Painting Kit: Funner in the Summer

Reposting this from Thirty Handmade Days Funner in the Summer

I am not sure what is more fun to a kid than painting.

Oh, wait...

That would be face painting.

My boys love to have their faces painted. As I recently found out, most kids love to have their faces painted.

So I thought, what better way to have fun than to come up with a portable Face Painting Kit. 

My Face Painting Kit consists of--

small hand mirror

dixie cups

water

paint brushes

paint tray

face paints or face paint make-up

baggie of wipes

To make the kit portable, or even to give it as a fun gift, everything can be put into a fun conatiner.

Package it all up. Then you can take some Summer fun where ever you go.

Then the face painting can begin.

Have you seen happier faces?

So much fun in one afternoon.

They proudly displayed their faces the rest of the day. Captain America may have been spotted at a local soccer game. It has also been rumored that a sweet puppy may have cried the hour leading up to washing time because she didn't want to say good bye to her puppy face.

Here are some fun Summer activities I have shared:

Baking Soda Painting

Kool-Aid Glue Painting

Homemade Slime

Follow along with Just Another Day in Paradise

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